Leaked Screenshots Reportedly Show New Apple Maps App in iOS 6

Apple will launch its own Maps service as part of iOS 6, according to reportedly leaked screenshots obtained Tuesday by Boy Genius Report. The move, if realized, will supplant Google Maps, removing a key Google service that has been part of iOS since the first iPhone’s launch in 2007.

According to BGR, the Apple Maps app will feature a “refreshed” user interface and an all-new “3D” mode that blends 3D models with aerial photography. The app is said to be near completion and is running on a test build of iOS 6 labeled “10A3XX.”

Apple’s new Maps app, likely included as part of iOS 6, is expected to be unveiled at the keynote for the annual World Wide Developers Conference in San Francisco on Monday, June 11 at 10AM PDT.

While the screenshots obtained by BGR show only a blurry glimpse of the UI and a 2D map mode, the site’s “trusted source” provided enough information to compile a mockup of the 3D mode, shown right. The reportedly leaked screenshots can be found at BGR.

One of the big things I’m hoping for is street-level, turn-by-turn navigation. I am 90% sure I will be getting an iPhone once the next generation is released, to replace my Android (iPhone wasn’t available through Verizon at the time), and that is one of my biggest points of apprehension. Google’s Navigation isn’t the greatest thing in the world, but it serves my needs. I don’t want to pay $50 for TomTom. I know there are a couple free or near free iPhone Apps that do this, but without an iPhone, I can’t test them.

If I had the record in the infosec world that BGR has in these stupid prediction and the inaccuracies of their “leaked information,” I would be out of a job. BGR has the worst record of any of these rumor sites. I cannot believe the good folks at TMO takes this drivel seriously!